Northern localities aim for 7 million tonnes of paddy in winter crop

 

Ha Nam (VNA) – Northern provinces and cities plan to cultivate rice on 1.105 million ha of land in the winter-spring rice crop in 2019-2020, down 11,400 ha compared to one year ago, it was reported at a conference in Ha Nam province on October 22.

However, the localities aim to harvest around 7.04 million tonnes of paddy despite the reduction in cultivation area, an increase of 15,900 tonnes from the previous winter-spring crop.

Delegates at the conference presented reports on water sources and solutions to ensure water for the rice crop, hydro-meteorological forecast for the period from November 2019 to April 2020, and the risks of pests for the crop.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh reminded northern localities to pay attention to irrigation to ensure sufficient water for the rice crop, and to use quality high-yield rice varieties to increase output and economic value.

It was also reported at the conference that northern localities cultivated rice on nearly 1.08 million ha of land in the summer crop 2019, down 27,900 ha from last year, due to droughts. As a result, total paddy output of the crop was estimated at 5.47 million tonnes, a reduction of 22,400 tonnes on a yearly basis.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the rice export volume in the first nine months of this year was estimated at 5.2 million tonnes, earning 2.24 billion USD, up 5.9 percent in volume but down 9.8 percent in value compared to the same period in 2018./.